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January 25, 2008
University Park, PA— WPSU-FM will air a special hour-long documentary on Fred Waring, featuring music, stories and more, on Sunday, Feb. 3, at 8 p.m. Host Erik Jester will take listeners on a trip down memory lane in "Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians: A Musical History," which tells the story of the American musical legend known as "The man who taught America how to sing" and "America's singing master."
Waring and the Pennsylvanians entertained audiences for almost seven decades—from the 1920s through the 1980s. They were pioneers in vaudeville, radio, movies, concert stages, television and music education. In this tribute you'll hear the group's earliest Victor recordings, when they were one of the hottest collegiate jazz bands on the vaudeville circuit, selections from the Ford and Chesterfield Shows of the 1930s and 40s, when they were the premiere radio band, songs from the historic, award-winning General Electric sponsored Fred Waring Television Show from the 1950s, and more.
The program was produced by Peter Kiefer and Eileen Akin of Fred Waring's America, in collaboration with Kerry Trout and Steve Shipman of WPSU-FM. It is currently available to public radio stations around the country through the Public Radio Exchange, a nonprofit service for distribution, peer review, and licensing of radio pieces. Fred Waring's America, part of The Special Collections Library of the University Libraries, is housed in the Pattee Library at Penn State and is accessible during regular business hours. Information about the collection also can be found at http://www.libraries.psu.edu/waring/ or by calling (814) 863-2911. Research inquiries are encouraged, and many materials are available for use by music educators, researchers and community groups.